Stubborn
by nicochii
Summary: She just couldn't let it go. Rated T for violence and mentions of blood.


Gorgonopsids fell sickeningly to the ground around him, their flesh thudding soundly as the group made steady progress across the open plains. The youngest staggered, stopping to rest his hands on his knees, keeling over with heavy pants in an attempt to catch his breath. A large hand smacked him gently across his back, telling the teen without having to look that it was Snow. Ever since confronting the man about his mother and absolving his hatred based on false accusations, Snow had always stuck around Hope, though he wouldn't admit it.

"Don't work yourself too hard, you hear? You're not the only mage in the group." Hope couldn't help but return the burly man's ridiculous smile with his own sad attempt.

"Hey, that's right! You've got to leave some of the work to me!" Vanille exclaimed from slightly up ahead, laughing as she began a light jog to catch up with Fang. Unsurprisingly, the former soldier was leading the pack. Another hand came down on the boy's shoulder as he stood upright. He turned to have the pilot give him a wry smile. A few repeated pats on his shoulder, and they were off once more.

They were headed towards Oerba, or at least, that's where they hoped they were heading. The two native to the land seemed to be so positive, so hopeful, that no one dared to question them. It wasn't their destination that bothered Hope, but rather

"Lightning!"

The soldier had disappeared down the side of a cliff, into a ravine. Shards of lightning burst into the air, signifying she was fighting something. Suddenly forgetting that he was nearly winded a few moments ago, Hope burst into a sprint at full speed. He froze and skid around on his heel as he heard Vanille's screams behind him. She was casting curasa on herself as Fang spewed colorful taunts at the Behemoth. Sazh was wasting no time with buffs, and Snow was barreling towards him.

"C'mon! Serah will kill me if I don't bring back her sister in one piece!" The gorilla chuckled at him as he sprinted past. Slightly awestruck at how coordinated they all were as a team, Hope shook himself out of his daze and raced after Snow and down into the ravine. The sight was somewhat shocking, as it only grew worse the further he went, more of the scene being revealed as his gaze scraped around the corner.

Normally when two beasts were fighting each other, they could sneak up on one and temporarily tag team them alongside the other. Normally, they would exploit this tactic to practice new techniques, or establish unique abilities._ Normally._

Hope crossed his arms in front of his face, bracing himself as Snow was tossed aside like a doll, the force crushing the man into the side of the cliff near where Hope stood. The teen immediately cast haste, and readied curasa for the burlier man. Coughing as he worked himself out of the wall, Snow stopped him.

"Go! Get to Lightning! I'll try to lure them off!" Hope looked the man in each eye carefully before nodding, fearlessly bolting straight into the warpath. He didn't even know where she was, but he assumed getting to the other side would be a good start. At the very least, it would minimize damage. "Over here!"

The beasts took a moment, but Snow was eventually successful in drawing their attention.'_Just in time, too,'_ the boy thought to himself as he ducked a claw, opting to leap forward into a somersault, pushing himself back into a sprint. The clanging and scraping of metal on metal could be heard, the Behemoth standing now, tearing its blade from its back. He had to hurry.

The sight was mortifying. There was blood everywhere, her hair was matted to her face, her clothes shredded here and there. But that wasn't what struck fear into the boy as he prepped curasa on autopilot. No, he'd seen the soldier hurt before. She was a trained soldier, one who knew when a battle was too much, when to retreat, and now, a trained mage. There was no reason she couldn't have cured herself. This was beyond a minor miscaluclation. '_She thinks she deserves this.. That this is some sort of punishment..!'_

The soldier pulled herself up as the spell hit her, unsteady on her feet as she wiped blood from her mouth on the back of her hand. Rather than fear, the adolescent was fueled by rage now. Firaga after Firaga was released upon the Megistotherian, the boy managing to fell one with Snow's help before the Behemoth turned on him. Determined, he took a step back to steady himself.

"Eat this!"

He turned up as Fang leapt down from overhead, driving the twin points of her lance into the beast's back, eliciting a deep roar from it. Thin wires wrapped around its wrist, halting its devastating blow as bullets hailed down its side. With their combined efforts, the Behemoth was taken down quite effortlessly.

"Sis.." The group turned as Snow approached the soldier, all of them eager for the answer she'd give. Casting cure on herself, Lightning turned and continued walking instead. Her brother-in-law turned to the rest of them, Fang helping Vanille jump down from the low cliff. Hope turned to face each of them; they all shared the same concerned expression, yet he knew they wouldn't approach her. Brows furrowed and determination set thickly upon his face, the teen was the first to follow.

* * *

><p>The gentle bubbling of water lulled the others to sleep, but it only drove Hope insane. He rolled over with a grunt, catching Lightning's eye in the moonlight. The soldier sat against the rock face, polishing her sword. Vanille had done the best she could to clean the blood from the older woman's clothing, but there was no way to repair the tears. After acknowledging that the boy was watching her for a few moments, she decided to ignore him, continuing to care for her weapon, testing it's capability to switch modes before oiling or cleaning or whatever it was that she was doing.<p>

It frustrated Hope. She'd put herself into serious danger earlier that day, didn't offer any explanation, and thought she could carry on as if nothing had happened? He clenched his teeth, curling his hands into fists.

"You should get some rest," she commented without so much as even looking up. Her voice was cool and stern, not angry or apprehensive, worried or concerned.

"No," the boy responded from his spot on the ground. They had arrived at the Sulyya Springs shortly after Lightning's episode, and when Vanille had suggested they camp here, no one argued for the sake of the soldier's well being; mentally as much so as physically.

"Suit yourself, then. Just don't complain when you're tired tomorrow." The apathy in her voice was what drove him over the edge. He pushed himself up with such force, if the earth could cry out it would have. Stomping over to the woman without any concern if he disturbed the others, he stopped as close to her as he felt safe to while she was holding her sword. Obviously aware of the approach, she still didn't acknowledge the boy, maintaining a heavily blank expression.

"Lightning!" He hissed at her, bold enough as to take another step into her personal space, demanding her attention. All he received was a raised brow as she tested the function of her sword-to-gun capabilities. "Do you seriously believe what you did earlier was okay? Do you really think Serah would want you to do that to yourself?" Hope growled. The soldier paused her actions, eyebrows narrowing, yet she refused to look at him.

Frustrated, he grabbed her shoulders. "Do you really believe you need to suffer more than you already have?" His voice dropped to a shaky whisper, his rage consumed with worry and concern. This was the woman who had helped him overcome the death of his mother, the soldier who taught him how to survive, and by far the only person who showed him that having something worth fighting for makes living that much more worthwhile. But now, that was breaking her. When they first set out together in the Vile Peaks, she was lost, desperate for any excuse to fight, the only thing that would get her mind off of the hopeless crusade that might save her sister.

"What do you know," She snapped, startling Hope. Lightning was gazing intently on her weapon, her fists clenched tightly around it. "All my life, I've been fighting to protect her, everything has been for Serah. I don't have a, a love interest, or a hobby. I fought because it was the only way for us to survive." The soldier finally lifted her head, bringing it back against the wall, eyes towards the dark night sky, Cocoon floating in the distance. "And now? After all those years, thinking I was doing my job right, nothing I had learned could help me save her. I lost her, Hope. I lost my only hope; the only thing worth fighting for in this world. It's gone.. She's gone.. Serah..."

Hope's eyes widened. When he had decided to approach the woman, he was expecting an argument, a scuffle, an exchange of cruel words and then a resolution. He wasn't expecting her to.. _cry_. Yet here she was, tears streaming silently, lips curled downwards as she struggled to hold it in. She brought the back of her arm to her mouth as she lowered her head, her entire body shaking once as she withheld her sorrow. The boy was overwhelmed, jaw slack.

"Lightning, I.. I'm sorry.." After an awkward moment he moved closer to her, kneeling now, unsure of what to do. He pulled her arm from her face; she finally looked at him, and his heart ached. This powerful woman, always steadfast and head held high; how could they forget what lay underneath? So much had been taken from her, and all she knew how to do was fight. Lightning was still struggling to accept others, still learning that relying on them or asking for help didn't make her weak. And here she was, broken and exposed. her head tilted to the side slightly, the tears welling and falling faster now.

"Hope.." She mumbled, almost asking. The tone alone caused the teen to instinctively pull her head to his chest, her arms finding their way around his smaller body, clinging so desperately as his own held her close, securely. He leaned into her head, smelling her hair, feeling the wetness seep into his shirt, her fingers leaving marks on his skin. But it didn't matter; none of it mattered. He told her he would watch her back, and that's exactly what he was doing. If this is what she needed, who was he to deny her?

He turned down towards the pink mess just below his chin, and managed a smile. "You're so stupid.. We'll get Serah back."

He leaned in to kiss the top of her head, rocking her until her sobs faded into dawn.


End file.
